2017-18 Winter Storm Season
The 2017-18 Winter Storm Season was slightly above active, producing 19 storms, 9 of which were category 3 and above, and only two were category 5. Every storm up to Sol was produced. Sol was the last storm of the season, dissipating on April 3, while Ani was the first, forming on November 18. Hope was the strongest storm of the season, peaking with 180mph, as it brought up to 3 feet of snow to places in the Northeast. This was also one of the most active seasons on record, producing a record 19 storms. Two storms, Rea and Sol, were also called the Twin Winter Storms as they both affected cities around America on April Fools Day, causing many deaths around the Northeast and Midwest. The first major winter storm, Winter Storm Cupra, caused up to a foot of snow in the West, mainly the Pacific Northwest and California. Naming List Aiden Benji Chloe Dylan Ethan Frankie Grayson Hunter Inga Jaxon Kalani Liam Mateo Noah Oliver Polly Quinn Riley Robot Skylar Toby Uma Violet Wilbur Xanto Yvonne Zoey Zon Other Storm Season Names Ani Britannia Cupra Diana Evan Fauna Genius Hope Iupiter Jove Kara Lupercus Marcia Neptune Opis Portunus Quirinus Rea Sol Tanya (Unused) Unagi (Unused) Viola (Unused) Westor (Unused) Xolo (Unused) Yandre (Unused) Zestor (Unused) Season Summary Winter Storm Ani formed extremely early in the season, going off an arctic high pressure system near the Gulf, as it grew peak winds of 95mph, going northwestward and causing snow totals to be up to 8-12" along the Gulf, as it brought winds of 95mph in occasional places in the Southeast, and weaker winds and severe weather in the Mid Atlantic States, which were mainly isolated, but overall, it never left a scar, but it was one of the most intense storms that the Southeast will see. Winter Storm Britannia was the second storm of the season, and it did form from an arctic high pressure system off the coast, growing to a small size, and affecting mainly Washington, British Columbia and Oregon with 3-6" of snow at the max, with some isolated reports of 9"+ and above around Washington and Oregon. The peak winds were 95mph, in isolated spots like central Oregon, blizzard conditions were reported, with wind gusts of 60mph and up to 9" of snow in spots. The heaviest snowfall of the storm was 9 inches near Burns Junction in Southeastern Oregon. The storm dissipated after leaving strong crosswinds doing severe damage in Brookings a town on the Southern Oregon Coast, in the Pacific Ocean. Winter Storm Cupra was the first major storm of the season, and the third storm, forming from an arctic low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico, as it got heavily organized along the southeast, bringing only a light 3-5" of snow as it went up northeast as it strengthened, as blizzard conditions were reported in upstate NY, and in parts of VT, CT and NH, as it brought a foot of snow to a foot and a half of snow. The storm rapidly went upwards and only brought only 5-8" of snow to Maine, and MA. Winter Storm Diana was the fourth storm of the season, and it formed from an arctic high pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico, causing very light snow as it formed and affected the Southeast and Midwest, bringing wind gusts up to 80mph and blizzard conditions in the Dakotas, and northern Nebraska as it went straight down south, bringing only 8-12" max in most areas, but isolated areas say up to 12-18" of snow. Diana did leave a small scar on Kansas City especially, as it caused heavy traffic problems, wind gusts and blowing snow. The storm dissipated back in the Gulf of Mexico after leaving a scar of high winds on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Winter Storm Evan was the fifth storm of the season, and the second major storm in the season. Evan formed from an arctic low pressure system and an Alberta Clipper. At first, it affected the Midwest by bringing 5-8" of snow to most areas notably in Northwestern Missouri which received 9.25 inches in one area of the quadrant, and as it went southeast, it brought more heavy amounts, ranging from 8-12" to 18-24" around with 25 inches in La Grange, Georgia, until it went northeast, and brought up to 2+ feet of snow in some areas. It did leave a scar on the Hudson Valley, as it brought over 3 feet of snow, causing 3+ days without school. After dumping 6 inches of snow on Nova Scotia, the storm dissipated in the Atlantic Ocean, halfway to Europe. Winter Storm Fauna was the sixth storm of the season to form. Fauna formed from an arctic low pressure system in Lake Huron and was not expected to strengthen past 75mph, as it reached the peak of 70mph, as it went and affected the Midwest, it headed southwest, affecting the Southwestern states, bringing a light 3-5" at the max, with 5-8" of snow in the mountains, and it brought California a good 1-3" of snow, causing no school for one day, some areas two days. The storm dissipated in the Pacific Ocean 1/4 of the way to Hawaii. Overall, it didn't leave a scar, but people in the Southwest loved Fauna. Winter Storm Genius was the seventh storm of the season to form, and the third major storm of the season. Many people criticized Genius because of the name. It formed from an arctic low pressure in the southeast, and it affected the Southeast once more, bringing 8-12" in some areas, going up north and leaving a fatal scar on Cleveland, bringing a foot of snow to Cleveland, cancelling school for two days. Genius then went east and brought 5-8" of snow to the Northeast, and isolated areas got 8-12" of snow in areas. 1-5 inches of snow were also evident in Western Ontario the storm dissipated in the Arctic Ocean, 500 miles from the Geographic North Pole. Winter Storm Hope was the eighth storm of the season to form, and the fourth major storm to form, and the first of two category 5 storms to form. Hope formed from an arctic low pressure system off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico, as it grew in size, replicating a system like the 1993 Storm of the Century. Peak wind gusts were 180mph, reported in the Catskills and Adirondacks. Many areas had over 2 feet of snow, but once again, the Hudson Valley and NYC got the most of the snow, over 4 feet of snow was reported, burying the Hudson Valley. More minor accumulations were reported across The Northern U.S and Southern Canada, from the Great Lakes to the Pacfic Northwest where the storm dissipated in the Ocean. Winter Storm Iupiter was the ninth storm of the season to form. It formed from an arctic low pressure system in Lake Erie, as it went west, bringing a light 5-8" of snow, and brought 3-5" to Michigan. Snow accumulations of 1-3 inches were evident across the Northern Plains, The Northern Rockies, and Pacific Northwest were the storm dissipated in the ocean. However, wind gusts were the main thing about this storm, it was more like a 'light blizzard' with only showers of snow, while wind gusts remained, causing schools to dismiss early and some to even close, as it went westward, and deintensified. Winds of 73 Mph were reported in Port Austin, Michigan. Winter Storm Jove was the tenth storm of the season to form. It formed from an arctic high pressure system and was extremely short-lived, as it affected Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska nad Iowa, and the northeastern part of Wyoming, it brought a maximum of 5-8" to some areas, while 3-5" was more common around the center of the storm. This didn't really do anything that bad, but some schools were delayed or cancelled for the day. Winter Storm Kara was the eleventh storm and fifth major storm of the season. It formed from a low pressure system in the area of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It lasted a week as it affected the California, The Inland West, the Northern Plains, Eastern Canada and Greenland. The storm brought a rare whopping 1-2 inches in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and 6-10 inches in the Sierras with 11 inches recorded at Yosemite National Park. The Storm brought 1-2 feet of snow and exceptional blizzard conditions in the Inland West and Northern Plains. The storm dissipated in the Atlantic Ocean near Iceland after dropping 1-10 inches of snow in Eastern Canada and Greenland. Winds of 105 mph were reported in Santa Cruz, California. Storms Winter Storm Ani Winter Storm Britannia Winter Storm Cupra Winter Storm Diana Winter Storm Evan Winter Storm Fauna Winter Storm Genius Winter Storm Hope Winter Storm Iupiter Winter Storm Jove Winter Storm Kara Winter Storm Lupercus Winter Storm Marica Winter Storm Neptune Winter Storm Opis Winter Storm Opis communal known as "Snow Kong" was the fifteenth storm and the seventh major storm of the season. It formed on March 6 from a low pressure system near San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. The storm strengthen as it journeyed across the Gulf of California and Northern Mexico causing heavy rain at lower elevations and heavy snow in the mountains. In the afternoon hours the storm system entered the United States by way of Texas and was further strengthened by a trough coming from the west. By midnight the storm exceed 100 mph as it ventured into the Lower Mississippi Valley. Winter storm warnings were issued by the National Weather service in many states east of the Mississippi River. All through the night the storm dumped an average of 1 and a half feet of snow in the Southeast. On the morning of March 7 the storm reached the Mid-Atlantic region dumping an average of 3 feet of snow breaking the record set by Snowzilla, 26 months earlier. The snowstorm closed the federal government in this region. By afternoon, the storm reached New England dumping an average of 3 and a half feet on the region closing the federal government in this region, too. In the evening and night, after the storm left the United States, it affected Canada by dumping an average of 4 feet of snow on its Atlantic Provinces. Powered by a jet stream in the North Atlantic Ocean, the storm crossed it and on March 9 reached the British Isles. Snow accumulations of 6-12 inches were common across the U.K. and Ireland even bringing some near blizzard conditions to this normally mild region. The storm crossed the North Sea reaching Denmark on March 10, and Poland on March 11. Snow accumulations on average were 2-4 inches in Denmark and Poland. During March 12-14 the storm slowly made its way across Eastern Europe dropping an average of 1 inch of snow before dissipating near Nizhny Novgorod in Western Russia by being absorbed by a gale wind. Effects Mexico Heavy rain and snow fell causing numerous travel and vacation disruptions throughout the northern part of the country. Texas The storm strengthened over Texas causing snow accumulations of 6-12 observed across the state. In Tyler, car skidding was reported causing over 10 near death experiences. Louisiana 7-13 inch accumulations fell in the northern part of the state causing travel disruptions and stuck vehicles. Arkansas 7-13 inch accumulations fell in the southern part of the state causing similar conditions observed in Northern Louisiana. Southeast 1.5 feet of snow fell on average in this region. I-24 between Jasper and Chattanooga, Tennessee experienced major traffic backups as lots of vehicles slowed down or got stuck in the snow. Cumberland Gap Tunnel was closed due to an avalanche that blocked the tunnel entrance at the North Portal on its Kentucky side. A man broke his head upon falling while skating on Mill Creek Lake near Amherst, Virginia. Mid Atlantic-Region Some of the government facilities in Washington, D.C were snowed in due to 3 feet accumulations of snow. In Baltimore, Maryland, some neighborhoods were completely cut off for the same reason. All the major airports in the region had to cancel dozens of flights due to snow covering the runways. 41 inches were recorded at Trenton-Mercer Airport in New Jersey. 2 foot accumulations blanketed New York City and more was recorded along with lots of fog on Long Island. New England 3.5 Feet of snow fell on average in this region causing many problems. A truck carrying important cargo near Worcester, Massachusetts got stuck in the snow. Boston was blanketed causing numerous disruptions in the booming metropolis. The Maine coast received 3 feet of snow plus exceptionally heavy fog. Canada Throughout the Atlantic provinces, an average of 4 feet of snow fell with 5 feet recored in an area of Labrador. As a result major travel disruptions occurred. Winter Storm Portunus Winter Storm Portunus was the eighth major storm and sixteenth storm of the season. It formed from an weak but fast Alberta Clipper the formed over Southern Alberta on March 17 . The clipper system dove southeastward into the United States dropping light snow in the Plains and Midwest with only 2.8 inches measure at Mount Rushmore, South Dakota. The clipper system was strengthen by a gale coming in from the Gulf of Mexico when it entered the Tennessee Valley on March 19. Once in the Tennessee Valley, the clipper system hooked and turned northeastwards. Over March 19-21, the storm caused whiteout and blizzard conditions in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states in areas that were already recovering from a previous blizzard that struck weeks earlier. The storm dropped 2-3 feet of snow in those regions with 40.8 inches recorded in Kingston, Rhode Island. On March 21, the storm entered Canada dropping 6-12 inches of snow in the Atlantic Provinces. On March 22, the storm reached its peak intensity of 949 millibars as it passed over the southern tip of Greenland before being absorbed by another extratropical cyclone forming to the south of Iceland on March 23. Winter Storm Quirinus Winter Storm Quirinus was the seventeenth storm of the season and was short lived but brought significant snowfall to the Southeast. It formed from a low pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico on March 24. The system strengthened into a winter storm quickly as it made landfall in Louisiana causing severe thunderstorms. The storm also caused severe thunderstorms in Mississippi and in parts of Alabama. On the evening of March 24, the storm began dropping snow in Alabama at an average of 2'' with 3.5 inches recorded in Mentone, Alabama. On March 25, the storm traversed Georgia, The Carolinas, and Virginia bringing an average of 8 inches to areas like Atlanta, Charlotte, and Hampton Roads with 16 inches recorded in Monroe, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. In the late night hours of March 25 the storm left the coast of the United States behind bringing light snow and ice accumulations to Delmarva and South Jersey. On March 26, the storm was absorbed by a gale blowing in towards New England. Winter Storm Rea Winter Storm Rea was the eighteenth and ninth major storm of the season. It formed from an Alberta Clipper that formed at the US/Canada border on March 28. The clipper system moved fast dropping 2'' of snow in the High Plains with 4 inches recored in Midwest, Wyoming. The system was strengthened by a trough coming in from the Pacific Northwest on March 29 over Western Kansas. The storm system turned eastward dropping 1' of snow in the Central Plains and Midwest with 18'' recored in Hays, Kansas. Blizzard warnings were issued for the Ohio Valley and Northeastern states as the storm continued eastward. The storm dropped 30'' of snow in the Ohio Valley and the Northeast with 3' recored in Poughkeepsie, New York. The storm left the coast of the United States in the afternoon hours of March 31 dropping 6'' accumulations in parts of Atlantic Canada through April 1. A jet stream powered the storm system to reach its peak intensity of 951 millibars before being absorbed by another extratropical cyclone forming east of the British Isles on April 2. Winter Storm Sol Winter Storm Sol communally known as the April Fool's Snowstorm of 2018 was the nineteenth storm of the season. It formed on March 30 as a shortwave trough over the Pacific Northwest and it quickly moved southeastward. On March 31 the system was strengthened by a gale of warm air coming in from the southwest at the Arizona/New Mexico border. The system tracked eastward bringing 1-2'' snow accumulations in the Southern Rockies and high elevations of New Mexico. Winter Storm Watches were issued for areas within the Southern Plains as the storm dropped 3-5'' accumulations in the Southern Plains. Winter Storm warnings were issued for areas around the Lower Arkansas Valley. The storm totaled 6-10'' accumulations in the state of Arkansas and it's surroundings. Blizzard warnings were issued for the Tennessee Valley and Western North Carolina. The storm had a significant effect on the Tennessee Valley bringing Nashville's most significant snowfall in a long time of 2'. The greatest amount of snow recorded during the storm was 45'' on Mount Mitchell, North Carolina. Blizzard watches were issued for the Carolinas. The storm dropped its final accumulations of 5-11'' before moving offshore on the Carolina coast on April 2. The storm accelerated towards the northeast. The storm system cause high waves and tides in the Mid-Atlantic region. On April 3 the storm moved across Southern New England bringing drizzle rather than snow to the region including the cities of Providence and Boston before moving offshore again on the coast of Massachusetts. That evening, the storm system was absorbed by another extratropical cyclone forming off the coast of Maine finishing out the storms coast to coast journey.